Items tagged with apple tv
With the recent cancellation of the HomePod smart speaker, Apple has abandoned the high-end smart speaker market, leaving just the HomePod mini to tackle the entry-level sector. This loss does not appear to be stopping the Cupertino-based company quite yet, though, as rumors swirl of a revival in the smart home space courtesy of an Apple TV set-top box with a speaker and camera built-in. According to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg, the new Apple set-top box would utilize the camera and speaker to allow for “video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart-home functions.” Furthermore, it would include the standard gamut of Apple TV functionality such as...
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With all the talk in recent months focused on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, we can't forget that there are other products in Apple's lineup that are due for a makeover. One such product is the Apple TV, which entered its 5th generation in September 2017. After three years, it's about time for an all-new model. The current generation Apple TV is using an aging A10X Fusion SoC paired with 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. Its successor, however, could get a big boost in the CPU department. Gadget leaker Fudge (@choco_bit) is claiming that Apple is currently working on a new Apple TV that would be powered by either the A12X (A12Z) SoC currently found...
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Rumors have insisted since last year that Apple was working on negotiating deals with publishers and music producers to bundle content together in a single subscription offering for customers. The rumor has gained steam as indications in iOS 13.5.5 beta hint that Apple is again working on a services bundle. That bundle is rumored to feature Apple Music, Apple TV+, and more offered under a single subscription. The assumption is that Apple would offer all of its available services in a single bundle at a lower price than buying them individually. Currently, Apple users could purchase a Family Sharing subscription to Apple Music, News+, and TV+ that would add up to around $30 per month. The new...
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The Apple TV+ streaming service just launched this morning, and Apple is no doubt excited about the prospects of its new offering and its original programming (i.e. star-packed entries like See and The Morning Show). Apple partner AT&T is also getting in on the action with a particularly impressive deal on the Apple TV 4K. This is the latest version of Apple's streaming box, and it has an MSRP of $179.99. However, AT&T is offering the box for just $89.99 today while supplies last. We have never seen the Apple TV 4K offered at this low a price -- ever. And it's definitely not a normal occurrence to see a current-generation Apple product offered at half-off. The Apple TV...
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Apple has been on a mission to deliver iOS 12.3 to consumers in preparation for the release of its Apple TV+ subscription service, and now the official release has been pushed out to customers. While Apple TV+ isn't quite ready for its public release yet -- that will have wait until for a few more months -- the building block are in place with iOS 12.3. iOS 12.3 includes a brand-new TV app, which gives users access to Apple TV Channels. With this new Apple TV Channels interface, users will be able to directly add their paid streaming services directly into the Apple-design UI, including fan favorites like Showtime and Starz. Apple even gives you the ability to share these subscriptions with...
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We've been hearing for quite some time that Apple is working on a streaming TV service that will serve as a counter to existing hit offerings like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Today, Apple confirmed that impending arrival of the service with invites that were sent out to the press. The invite doesn't really give much away with respect to what will be unveiled, but the "It's show time" moniker doesn't leave much to the imagination. On top of that, the invite also includes the requisite film countdown sequence which is no doubt a reference to the streaming video service. Although Apple is expected to announce its streaming TV service at the event, reports indicate that it might...
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We've all been there at some point with our favorite shows. A prolonged time between seasons can leave fans having a hard time remembering how some characters figure into the show. The Amazon Prime Video X-Ray feature is powered by IMDb and draws all sorts of information about a character to shed insight on a backstory. X-Ray is perfect for the times where someone new to a series tries to watch without starting from the beginning of a series and knows nothing about the characters. This feature also offers information on cast members so when you recognize a face, but can't quite place what an actor was in before, that data is right at your fingertips. Incidentally, Amazon owns IMDb. Apple...
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TiVo fans will be getting a new app later in 2019 that will expand the capabilities of its ecosystem. At CES 2019 TiVo showed off new apps for Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku devices that will allow users with TiVo boxes to view live and recorded content on multiple TVs in their home. The cool part about that feature is that it uses the customer's existing hardware and doesn't require them to purchase additional TiVo set-top boxes, like the recently announced Bolt, or the currently available TiVo Mini. TiVo has stated that it expects to launch the apps during Q2 and Q3 of 2019. The first app to launch will be for Fire TV users, the Roku app will come next, with the Apple TV app being last. The way...
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The streaming market is booming, and everyone and their dog wants in on the action. Apple has of course been involved in streaming for a while, thanks both to its iTunes store and also its standalone Apple TV device. But as rumor has it, the company is going to begin taking things much more seriously over the next year. It's not difficult to find a streaming device that does the job you need it to for a reasonable price. Google has Chromecast, and then there's of course Amazon's Fire TV and also Roku. The problem for Apple with those devices is that they're inexpensive, and with a starting price tag of $149 for its Apple TV, that requires some serious commitment from those who pick one up. Well,...
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Apple's planned TV service has been long talked about and long delayed. In 2015, reports indicated that the delay in bringing the service to market had to do with negotiations for local programming. Last month, a report surfaced that claimed Apple's insistence on staying away from programming with sex and violence was threatening the service. Many wondered how Apple planned to lure in subscribers, in a Netflix world, with bland original content. The answer is that Apple reportedly has no plans to sell subscriptions to its service, for now. People who claim to be familiar with its plans say that Apple plans to give its original programming away to all Apple device owners. That means anyone who...
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When we think of the Apple TV, we don't think of it as being a particularly good gaming system; at least with the potential of something like the NVIDIA SHIELD TV. And don't even get us started on the media streamer’s dreaded remote or Apple's refusal to develop a dedicated gaming controller for the device. With all that being said, a big hint was dropped today that could lead to Fortnite landing on tvOS, the operating system that runs on the Apple TV. Fortnite is the biggest video game on the planet right now and code found within the game calls out references to tvOS. #fortnite Fortnite is coming to Apple tvs. tvOS a Apple tv operating system has been found in the files. pic.twitter.com/QBBojQI0SX—...
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Valve just dropped a bit of exciting gaming news on us this afternoon. The company announced its new Steam Link app, which will allow you to stream PC or Mac games from your main computer to your smartphone, tablet, or even to your Apple TV. Valve says that the app will initially be available for iOS, Android (as a beta initially) and tvOS starting on May 21st. However, game streaming (from the host PC or Mac) will only be able to take place over a 5GHz home Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection for gaming. But even with that limitation, you'll have access to your full library of games. In addition, you'll be able to control games on your iOS device using a MFi-certified controller or with the official...
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If you are looking for another reason to cut the cord with your cable company, Philo has an announcement that you might be interested in. Philo is a streaming TV service that has been around for a while now and the service has bundles of channels that you can subscribe to that are much cheaper than traditional cable TV. Philo announced that the service has now launched on the Apple TV and on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices. Prior to launching on those two devices, the primary way to watch the service was via a web browser on your computer, Apple mobile devices, or by casting to your Chromecast. Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV support slots in alongside the support for Roku devices that has been...
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More and more people are ditching their expensive cable and satellite TV plans and going with streaming options like Netflix, Sling TV, and Hulu. The catch is that some of these streaming services mean you miss out on local content like news and sports. YouTube TV gets around that by offering streaming content that includes your local shows and news. Yesterday, YouTube announced that the YouTube TV app had launched on Roku devices, which are the most popular streaming devices out there. Along with that announcement, YouTube also announced that the same app would be coming for Apple TV users "very soon" -- and true to its word, YouTube TV is now available on Apple TV devices. The YouTube...
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It looks as though Amazon was the first company to blink with regards to its ongoing feud with Google. Back in 2015, Amazon removed devices like the Chromecast and the Google Nexus Player from its massive online marketplace. Amazon’s reasoning at the time was that the devices, which lacked support for Amazon Video, could confuse customers and lead them to possibly return the devices after the couldn't access Amazon's streaming media services. "Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," Amazon said at the time. "It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion." Competing...
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Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Whoever said it was full of you-know-what, as Apple just proved by adding support for Amazon Prime Video on its Apple TV streaming set-top box. At long last, Amazon Prime Video is available in the tvOS App Store, joining the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and many other apps. So, what took so freaking long to get to this point? Call it a case of clashing titans. While the Apple TV has long supported popular streaming services such as YouTube, HBO Go, and others, Amazon Prime Video was not invited to the party, even though Apple wanted to bring as many streaming services into the fold as possible. Be that as it may, Amazon Prime Video was explicitly banned...
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YouTube TV launched earlier this year as the latest in a long list of streaming services aimed at people looking to cut the cord. However, the launch was limited by the fact that the service was primarily focused on watching content from a smartphone or tablet. While that may be OK for people that want to watch TV shows while on-the-go, it didn't specially address the market for people that primarily watch content in front of a big screen television. Well, that all changes today, as Google just announced the YouTube TV app is coming to a host of devices specifically designed to provide a big screen experience. Those devices include the NVIDIA SHIELD TV (which gains supports via SHIELD Software...
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When the current generation Apple TV was first announced back in September 2015, it was conspicuously missing one important feature that was becoming available with competing devices: 4K streaming support. This omission was made even more perplexing given the devices starting price of $150, putting it at a disadvantage to cheaper rivals like the Roku 4 and Amazon Fire TV. Now, two years later, Apple is rectifying that "mistake" with the Apple TV 4K. The Apple TV's internal hardware has been beefed up to include a triple-core A10 Fusion processor and 3GB of RAM (the same CPU used in the iPad Pro), which is a huge upgrade compared to its predecessor, which features an A8 processor and 2GB of RAM....
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Confirming reports from earlier this month, Apple sent out invites this afternoon to the press confirming that its next keynote address will take place on September 12th. The event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater, which is situated on the brand-new Apple Park campus. This is expected to be a packed event, as Apple will not only pull the wraps off the highly anticipated iPhone 8, but also new version of the Apple TV and Apple Watch. This will also be the launching point for Apple’s iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra releases. But of course, most eyes will be on the iPhone 8, which is expected to feature a near bezel-less OLED display that is larger than iPhone 7 Plus, but with a form-factor...
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Apple iPhone fans by and large are eagerly anticipating the launch of the iPhone 8, the next-generation handset that will mark the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. However, that is not the only electronic gadget Apple is planning to unveil next month. Tim Cook and the Cupertino gang will trot out a new Apple TV set-top box, one that will be upgraded 4K streaming and high dynamic range (HDR) support. The streaming device sector is a crowded field these days with competitive solutions such as Google's Chromecast, Amazon's Fire TV, and of course the Roku. Versions of all three of these popular devices support 4K streaming, while both the Chromecast Ultra and Roku Ultra support HDR as well (Amazon...
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There have been rumors of a fully-fledged Apple TV for years. No, we're not talking about the relatively small streaming box that competes with Roku and Amazon Fire TV, but a full-size television set that would be a central hub for media consumption. Up until now, the Apple-branded TV has just been a rumored product, and we haven’t seen any real physical evidence of its existence. That all changed this morning when alleged pictures of a prototype Apple OLED TV surfaced. The pictures were originally discovered in a Weibo post, before gadget leaker Benjamin Geskin made them widely available via Twitter. According to the Weibo post, the OLED TV has a screen that measures roughly 60 inches,...
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Apple “accidentally” posted HomePod test firmware last month that has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving to the Apple community. Developers have picked apart the firmware, which was supposed to be distributed only among Apple employees for internal use, to uncover secrets surrounding the HomePod AI smart speaker, iPhone 8 and even the Apple Watch Series 3. This weekend, the HomePod firmware leak has shed light on yet another product in Cupertino’s pipeline: the next generation Apple TV. According to lines of code discovered by iOS developer Guilherme Rambo, the next generation Apple TV will support 4K resolution video, which would finally put Apple on par with its immediate competitors...
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